This weekend we wanted to get out town, but we were low on time or money—which ended up being the criteria for our decision. Nine Mile Canyon fit the bill. It was an added bonus that I hadn’t been there since I was a 3^rd grader studying rock art in Utah.  We hit the road around eleven, and it took us two hours to get to the mouth of the canyon. Once in the canyon, we started our hunt for rock art. Nine Mile Canyon is known as "the world's longest art gallery.” The name is a little deceptive since the canyon is not only nine miles long. It is, rather, about 46 miles of paved road with panels of rock art interspersed about every mile.  Most of the panels can be seen from the car and are easily accessible by foot. The most famous panel is called "The Great Hunt,” which is the last scene carved out on the panel. It took us about an hour and a half to get to "The Great Hunt", with several stops along the way. It is definitely worth the 46-mile drive to see this panel. 

Christmas Break

We started school this week and let me tell you, I was not ready to go back! Finals week was the week before Christmas and somehow I lucked out and had the majority of my finals the last week of class. As a result, I basically ended up with a month-long break. Hallelujah! Once Blake finished his finals, we took a weekend trip to Bryce Canyon. We found a good deal on Groupon for Ruby's Inn, so we stayed for a couple of days. We went to Bryce earlier this year, but unfortunately we didn't get to do much hiking. This time we made sure we hiked both the Queens Garden and Navajo Loop trails, highlights of Bryce. It was incredible.